Saturday, December 29, 2012

College Football: Who Are You Watching Now?

Greetings, G-Force.

The NFL Draft is one of my strongest, innermost passions. I love to talk it. I enjoy the fantasy thought of it. So, here's a brief outline of who I'm going to be watching on Saturday - in anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft. I expect to be actively watching 4 of the 5 games. If I'm not, I'll have it on DVR and I'll be sure to check it out prior to April's NFL Draft. As a side note, I won't be listing any of the OL.

Rice v Air Force

For Rice, I'll give a quick peak at three players: Jared Williams, DE/OLB; Luke Wilson, TE; Vance McDonald, TE; Sam McGuffie, WR. McGuffie is an interesting prospect. You may remember him from his Freshman year at Michigan. He played RB for Michigan and transferred to Rice. He also runs track for Rice. He recently switched from RB to WR and he also returns kicks.

For Air Force, Alex Means, LB, interests me.

West Virginia v Syracuse

West Virginia's WR's are of high interest for me. Tavon Austin is in the mold of Randall Cobb/Percy Harvin. He's smaller than both, but he's equally as lethal in the open field. He's littered with elusiveness. Great vision. Will be a dynamic KR/PR, slot WR option. Stedman Bailey is a sure handed WR who is great at winning jump balls and making plays in traffic. Geno Smith will be one of the top QB's drafted, but he won't be around when the Packers draft.

Syracuse's QB, Ryan Nassib, is a top notch QB who might pique the Packers interest in the mid-rounds. He can make all of the throws. Gamer. Can get out of the pocket and wing it. Shamarko Thomas, S, is a heavy hitter, but a lacks ideal height. WR's Alec Lemon & Marcus Sales are worth noting. I'll also be curious to see if Brandon Sharpe, DE/OLB, has the ability to disrupt the Dub-V passing attack.

Navy v Arizona State

Frankly, this will probably be one of the few Bowl games that I won't tune into for very long.

Texas v Oregon State

Texas has two highly touted players on defense in Alex Okafor DE/OLB and Kenny Vaccaro, S. Both are likely to be drafted in the first 2-3 rounds.

Oregon State has a great CB in Jordan Poyer. They have a number of Sr's on defense including Castro Masaniani who is a stout DL against the run. He's also had 2 sacks on the year. Andrew Seumalo has been a consistent DL as well for the Beavers. Anthony Watkins, S, might be a prospect in someone's camp as well. Markus Wheaton, WR, has been a great target and has exceeded 1200 yards. TE, Colby Prince has NFL size. It should be noted that Oregon State's best player, Scott Crichton, OLB/DE, is only a Sophomore.

TCU v Michigan State

I'm uber excited for this game. It'll be one of the more interesting Bowl games. It's not going to be filled with an abundance of offensive prowess, but the teams match up well. And I've seen each team play on a couple of occasions this year, so I have good familiarity.

TCU has a young team. Matthew Tucker, RB, is probably the best NFL Draft prospect at the skill positions for them.

Michigan State will potentially have a number of prospects in the first couple of rounds of the Draft - depending on who all declares. Le'Veon Bell, RB; Dion Sims, TE; William Gholston, OLB/DE, and Max Bullough, ILB, would all be drafted in the top 3 rounds. Bullough is one of my favorite players in all of college football. Tough nosed defender. A leader. A 3-down player. Plays the run, drops in coverage and is a stellar blitzing LB. I'd love him in Green Bay. I was excited to see Anthony Rashad White, DL, play this year. White and Jerel Worthy formed a great tandem last year. But, this year, White has seemed winded. He's been less dominant than I expected. He's lacked the energy that I saw last year. Still, I like his game. Excited to see him vs TCU. CB Johnny Adams is a physical defender, despite his size.